The present invention relates to artificial nails and in particular to a novel composition and method of applying and/or forming artificial nails. Artificial nails are well known and are used mainly by women but increasingly by men also in order to beautify, correct, strengthen and protect their natural fingernails. With regard to beauty, consumers want the appearance of long, smooth, nicely shaped fingernails and any artificial nail must not only be beautiful in itself but must also create the appearance of being natural and blend effectively into its natural environment, i.e. the natural nail and finger. With regard to protecting, correcting and strengthening nails, the biggest problem is that there are many people who simply cannot grow long nails, something they want very much to do. Another problem is that the artificial nails presently available do not last long. Another problem is the noxious odor and fumes caused by artificial nail products on the market. Still another problem is the inconvenience of needing to apply a primer of the nail product to the nail prior to the application of the nail product in order to "prime" or prepare the nail. A further problem is that the nail composition ingredients of the nail product to be applied yellows after awhile and has to be replaced. The ideal artificial nail product would strengthen the natural nail enough to permit the wearer to grow long durable nails thereby avoiding or correcting broken or weak nails and would do this without the above-mentioned disadvantages. Finally, any cosmetic product, particularly one that also has a protective function, is valuable only to the extent that it endures under normal conditions of wear and tear including cooking near flames and applying acetone based nail polish remover, does not evoke allergic reactions, is odorless, relatively easy to use and is economical.
Artificial nails of the prior art can generally be categorized into two groups: (i) preformed or prefabricated nails that are glued onto the natural nail and (ii) artificial nails formed on the natural fingernail by the application of a liquid solution or an adhesive composition to the natural fingernail referred to as in situ, on site or custom-fitted nails.
The prior art contains numerous examples of prefabricated artificial nails, such as those described and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,633,139; 2,746,460; 2,764,166; 2.941,535,; 2,979,061; 3,037,514; 3,157,912; 3,277,900; 3,425,426; 3,483,289; 3,487,831; 3,552,401 and 4,106,614. Unfortunately, preformed nails of the prior art have significant disadvantages. Since they are not custom-made for every size and shaped finger, they rate poorly in terms of beauty since they do not look natural or blend effectively into their natural environment. In addition, they are not particularly effective at strengthening or protecting the nail and fall off fairly easily, thereby necessitating constant replacement. Preformed nails are often made out of hard plastic. An example of the material they are made out of is ABS plastic.
Accordingly, most beauty professionals employ the kind of artificial nails that are formed in situ. Even in this category, however, there are no methods or compositions that are entirely satisfactory even though it is also known in the art to apply a coating of adhesive to the top surface of a natural fingernail and to the top surface of a fingernail extension in situ. For one thing, applying this kind of artificial nail is time consuming in that one has to repeatedly visit a cosmetician and expend time while she forms the artificial nail in situ (directly on the nail). Most artificial fingernails formed in situ do not last longer than approximately one week and therefore require constant repeat visits. Furthermore, the fact that the wearer never knows when it will fall off and need immediate replacement can create embarrassment and discomfort. In addition, most artificial nails of this kind, while they look more natural than prefabricated nails, do not fully blend in with the finger and are not totally natural looking. In addition, the artificial fingernails that are formed in situ employ a form, usually plastic, around which the composition is applied and allowed to harden. The result is a less than perfect integration of the plastic form with the hardened composition and a less than perfect integration with the natural fingernail. Since the plastic form, which is usually placed on the tip of the nail, does not absorb the adhesive and is not integrated into the hardened composition to become one piece, there is no integrated whole nail created and if the plastic form comes off, the hardened composition will remain and the wearer will seem to have half a nail, or a nail of two different thicknesses. Finally, these artificial nails are not generally hard enough to adequately protect the nail from further damage or from separating and falling off the natural nail. Therefore, they do not allow the growth of long nails.
There are two other well known important disadvantages of prior art prefabricated artificial nails and prior art custom-fitted nails. The first is that the nails tend to catch on fire instantly when the wearer is cooking near a flame. The second is that artificial nail wearers like to clean them by removing nail polish thereon, often once a week, and the preferred materials for nail removal tend to contain acetone but the prior art artificial nails tend to melt when washed with acetone based solutions after approximately 30 seconds.
The fact of the matter is that there is great need among women and men for an artificial nail that looks natural, is hardy, strengthens and corrects broken nails and protects against further damage to nails so as to permit someone who cannot otherwise grow long beautiful nails to do so. Furthermore, there is a need for an artificial nail product that is odorless, is easy to use in that it does not require a primer and is made of non-yellowing ingredients. Finally, there is a need for an artificial nail product that is fire retardant and does not melt easily when washed with acetone-based nail polish removers.